Deep-sea-salvage-recovering apparatus.



G. W. WINSLOW.

DEEP SEA SALVAGE RECOVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0m23.191s.

1,217,254. Patented Feb, 27,1917.

gnomvkoz To all 'whom it may concern.'

UNITED 1 s TATEs PATENT oEEIoE. f

GEORGE w. wrNsLow, or C HrcaeogILLrNor-s.

nEEr-sEA-sanvAGE-EECOVEEING APPARATUS. v

The primary object in view is the supplying of.v a1r and power to anoperator under conditions lncldent to such intense pressures as exist'at,great depths for enabling recovery of deep sea salvage heretoforeconsidered inaccessible.

-It is of course well known that descent in a bell lor other divingapparatus to a depth of. over a. hundred feet is attended.

with great danger and descent to a greater .depth than two hundred feetis recognized as practicably impossible vbecause of the impossibility ofconstructing apparatus susceptible of withstanding water pressure and atthe same time capablef of being supplied with air.' It has been proposedto providev oxygen in a condensed form and toallow the oxygen to exhaustinto the lchamber occupied by the operator, butl this is attend-v edalso by dangers and difficulties well recognized, the necessity forsupplying air in this manner having arisen from the fact that theordinary hose utilized in bell diving for supplying the driver iscrushed and flattened by depths so that no air can be forced through it,or if forced through under sufficient pressure soon produces damage ofthe hose which results disastrously,

All these difficulties are overcome by the present invention whichcomprises a 'container and non-crushable flexible means for supplyingair and power thereto.

` The invention also comprises certain other novel constructions,combinations and arrangements of parts `as will behereinafter specifiedand claimed. Y

In the accompanymg drawing-f -Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation andpartly in vertical section of an apparatus Specification of LettersPatent.

the pressure of the water at great Patentedlfeb. 27, 1917.

\. Application filed December 28, 19,13. Serial No. 808,465.

embodying the features of the present ixivention. Fig. 2 is an enlargeddetail,

cable.

Fig. 3 is a transverse Section taken on the plane indicated by line 3-3of Fig. 2 and looking downwardly. i

I Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1

lndicates a float or barge on which is mounted winding mechanism for thecommunicat#v ing cable 2 and sustaining cable 3. The

winding mechanism consists of appropriate drums and operating devicestherefor of any common and well known type adapted to pay out and takeup the cables 2 and 3 uniformly. The cable 3 is of a size and tensilestrength adapting it to sustain the weight of a bell or container 4, thecable being connected to the container by being fixed to an eye 5 whichis riveted or otherwise rigidly fixed to the container.

Cable2 consists of a series of articulated sections 6; each section 6having at one end a 4ball 7 and at the other end a socket 8, the

ball of each section 6 having a ground fit 1n the socket of the nextadjacent 'section longitudinal, vertical section through thecommunicatingand each section being a tube with the bore opening in thesocket at one end and fiaring through the ball at the other end, thewall of each section 6 being of the requisite thickness and material forwithstanding deep sea pressure. In this respect the cable 2 willnaturally vary according to the particular depth to which the container4 is to belowered. That is to say, if the container A4 is to be loweredto two hundred feet, the

sections 6 employed will be testedto resist, saytwo hundred 'and fiftypounds crushing strength, so as to leave a yliberal margin of safetybeyond the possible pressure at the elevation to which it is to belowered, and if the container 4 is to be lowered to a greater depth, theparticular sections 6 will be constructedand tested for the proportionalincrease in stress.

To insure against leakage between the several balls 7 and the sockets 8,under high pressure, the cable 2 is completed by having the sections 6covered by a continuous hose or casing .9 which is sufficiently flexibleto give readily for accommodating movements of the articulated joints ofthe cable 2 and is yet impervious to water. lIn Fig. 2 the casing 9 isshown as rounded out eVeIl.

v fectly apparent that a even where it is notV 'touching against outersurfaces of the ball 7 .I This condition, of course, attains only whenthe cable 21s either not in use or not in position for being.

'and conform closely to the contour of ex.

posed portions of ball 7.

Arranged within the bore of cable 2 are telephone wires l0 andelectrical power supply wires 1l, and also arranged in said bore y hook19 for clasping are the injector hose 12 and 13.

The receptacle 4 is particularly designed and especially braced, toresist external crushing stresses, and at that portion which may beconsidered the forward end of the container 4 the container is providedwith lights 14, 14, and inspection windows or glasses 15, 15. Theinterior of the container may also be illuminated disposed electriclights, not illustrated. At the forward end of the container 4 a ball 16is fitted in a socket 17 and has a ground joint bearing therein so as toavoid leakage. A sleeve 18 outstands from the ball 17 and carries a boathook 19 at its outer end. A rod 20 extends from the interior of casandexhaust air pipes or ing 4 through the ball 17 and longitudinallywithinthe sleeve 8, the outer portion of the rod 20 being threaded and engagedby a nut pivotally connected to a in turniis pivotally connected totheshort arm of a lever 22, the long arm of the lever 22 being disposed tocoperate with the an article between the lever and hook, the operationof the lever 22 being effected and controlled by a'handle or ,j

wheel fixed to the inner end of rod 20.

The rear end of the container 4 is formed with an entrance opening ordoorway 23 closed by doors 24,24, constructed and disposed for resistinga maximum pressure.

A propeller 25 is arranged at the rear of casing l and a similarpropeller 26 is disposed at the side thereof, said propellers beingappropriately connected with actuating motors within the casing 4, andsaid motors being driven by power supplied 'through the wires 11 andcontrolled .by switches not illustrated but preferably disposed atpoints of easy access for the operator while located in the frontportion of casing 4. Said operator may be provided with head gear forsustaining an ordinary telephone receiver at his ear, Aand a transmitter27 is preferably located adjacent the face of the operator while at workfor enabling the operator to converse readily with the persons on theship or barge above without releasing his hold on the apparatus beingmanipulated.

by appropriately 'abling the link 21 which" v llt is to be noted that bythe use of the two propellers mentioned the casing 4 can be moved in anydirection, except up or down, and the casing 4 can `therefore be readilybrought to the desired location with respect to a chest or othervaluable article to be recovered.v Furthermore, other tools andapparatus may be applied at v'other points than that illustrated,according to the conditions and exigencies incident to any particularset of circumstances without deviatingfrom the spiritand scope of theinvention.

lin operation the person or persons to make the descent enterthrough'the doorway 2U and seals the same by the closing of the doors24. The bell or casing 4 is then lowered away by the paying out of thecables 2 and 3 until the operator at the telephone 27 announces thearrival of the casing at the desired elevation. The casing 24 is thencaused to maneuver by driving and revers ing the propellers 25 and 26 asrequired for edectively positioning the casing 24 and enpicking up of apiece of salvage or the attaching ci a grappling hook or other exteriorapparatus thereto. A rotary drill 28 is preferably extended throughthecasing 4 at an appropriate point for enabling the making of aperturesin the body of a vessel or other article for facilitating theapplication of hooks or other engaging means thereto.

While lt have illustrated and described specifically a ball and'socketjoint as the preferred manner of connection of the sections 6, it isobvious that the invention is in no sense limited to this particulartype of joint, since the oint may be any connection between the sections6 site exibility and capable of 'being covered and protected by thesurrounding hose or lexible casing.

ll claim sol providing the requirll`he combination of a casing adaptedto l GEORGE W. WlNSLOW.

llVitnesses:

GEORGE E. Wiseman, PAUL lRosE.

